Linguistic and Cultural Untranslatability of Translating Russian Folktales Into Chinese From the Perspective of Translation Hermeneutics

Russian folk tales are of great cultural and literary value. Language used in these stories often performs specific aesthetic and didactic functions, while fictional character created in these works have become a part of the national culture, which distinguishes Russian folktales from other texts. However, this also makes it difficult to translate such stories into foreign languages, in particular, Chinese, main cause of which lays in the problem of untranslatability. The object of this study is Russian folktales in Russian-Chinese translation combination, the subject is the cases of untranslatability in translating Russian fairytales into Chinese. Methods of description, comparison and categorization are used in this research. While translating “The Magic Swan Geese”, “The Realms of Copper, Silver and Gold” and “Father Frost” into Chinese, author of this study divides the showed untranslatability into four categories – phonological and stylistic untranslatability, lexical and grammatical untranslatability, cultural untranslatability of precedent words and cultural untranslatability of abstract concepts – and suggests specific solutions to improve the translation text in each situation. Firstly, it’s important to preserve the plot and distinctive characters instead of the form of source language or the rhythm of the original text. Secondly, when translating such foreign culture-loaded words as Baba-Yaga, the Magic swan geese or Father Frost, translator should understand the main characteristics of these images or personas in the Russian cultural context. Simple transcription is inappropriate. Last but not least, the translation work is also positively influenced by extra-linguistic factors, such as the friendly exchange between countries. In conclusion, the purpose of translating Russian folktales into Chinese is not to completely overcome the problem of untranslatability, but to better understand the meaning of the original text and reproduce it for the Chinese readers.

hermeneutics of translation, understanding, untranslatability, linguistic untranslatability, cultural untranslatability, Russian folktales, Russian-Chinese translation, translator's choices, translation studies, literary translation